Stocks Decline to Begin Tuesday
Equity markets in Canada’s largest centre opened lower on Tuesday, led by losses in metal miners' shares, as investors awaited possible trade negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners for more clarity on the tariff war and economic uncertainty. The TSX Composite Index lost 66.75 points to open the session at 26,322.21. The Canadian dollar slid 0.1 cents to 72.83 cents U.S. On Monday, the White House said that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will probably speak this week to iron out trade issues, days after Trump accused Beijing of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. Markets will closely monitor the call between the two leaders, as ongoing tariff-induced trade tensions between the world's two largest economies have caused significant volatility in global equities and businesses. Additionally, the Trump administration pushed countries for their best trade offers by Wednesday, a sign that trade negotiations were on the horizon. Meanwhile, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development trimmed its global growth outlook and said the trade war was taking a bigger toll on the U.S. economy than before. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange eked ahead 0.21 points to 707.62. All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative in Tuesday’s first hour, weighed most by gold, decreasing 1.6%, materials, down 1.3%, and consumer staples, handing back 0.5%. The three gainers proved to be utilities, picking up 0.8%, energy, stronger by 0.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks, up 0.1%. ON WALLSTREET Stocks were little changed Tuesday, following modest gains seen in the first session of June, as growth concerns increased and traders awaited more details on potential U.S. trade deals. The Dow Jones Industrials dipped 48.64 points to begin Tuesday at 42,256.84. The S&P 500 index added 5.92 points to 5,941.86 The NASDAQ Composite tacked on 81.23 points to 19,323.84. Joby Aviation shares surged more than 13% after entering a memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities for entering the Saudi Arabia market. Tuesday’s declines follow the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development cutting its U.S. growth outlook. The OECD now sees the U.S. economy expanding by just 1.6%, down from 2.2%. Beijing countered President Donald Trump’s accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. Investors had grown hopeful that the two countries could work out a trade deal, but this latest development points to negotiations taking a turn for the worse. Meanwhile, the European Union criticized Trump’s intention to double steel tariffs to 50%, saying that such a move “undermines” its own negotiations with the U.S. An EU spokesperson said that the bloc was “prepared to impose countermeasures.” Prices for the 10-year Treasury rebounded, lowering yields to 4.43% from Monday’s 4.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices prospered 85 cents to $63.37 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices retreated $37.80 to $3,332.80 U.S. an ounce.
